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Azad not allowed to leave Srinagar airport, flays Doval

Srinagar, Aug 8 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was on Thursday prevented from leaving the Srinagar airport, hours after the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister took a swipe at National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Azad was stopped after he arrived to hold a meeting with Congress leaders over the central government's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state.

The party leaders said that Azad would be sent back to Delhi on an Air Vistara flight later in the day.

Before leaving Delhi, Azad, who has severely criticized the government over its move on Jammu and Kashmir, dismissed as no significance Doval's meeting and having lunch with Kashmiri civilians at Shopian a day earlier.

Azad told reporters: "By giving money, you can take anyone with you."

On Wednesday, Doval was spotted having lunch with local residents here, in a bid to show that normalcy was slowly returning to the Valley.

Doval was in Kashmir to assess the security situation in the state, which was put under curfew hours ahead of the government's announcement. All communication, including the Internet and all telephone connections, were also snapped.